salt and light

The High Cost of Compromise

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1 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” 3 As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. 4 Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 saying:

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 7 From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. 8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.

10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.” – Ezra 9:1-15 ESV

It had been 80 years since the first wave of Israelites returned to the land of Judah under the aegis of King Cyrus of Persia. These former exiles had been given permission to return to their homeland so that they might restore the city of Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple of Solomon. This generation of Israelites had been born in Babylon during the 70 years of exile that God had ordained as punishment for their parents’ failure to keep their covenant commitment to Him.

Sixty-six years before the Babylonians invaded Judah and captured the city of Jerusalem, God foretold of the coming destruction. He spoke through His prophet Jeremiah, who delivered His warning of pending judgment to the stubbornly rebellious people of Judah.

“But you would not listen to me,” says the Lord. “You made me furious by worshiping idols you made with your own hands, bringing on yourselves all the disasters you now suffer. And now the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Because you have not listened to me, I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever. I will take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. Your millstones will fall silent, and the lights in your homes will go out. This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.” – Jeremiah 25:7-11 NLT

Everything happened just as God said it would. In 539 B.C., the Babylonians ended a years-long siege, breaching the walls of Jerusalem and wreaking destruction upon the city and its citizens. Those who did not die by the sword were taken captive and transported to Babylon. But God had also placed a time limit on their season of suffering. Long before the Babylonians invaded Judah, God declared that their subjugation of His people would last seven decades.

“Then, after the seventy years of captivity are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his people for their sins,” says the Lord. “I will make the country of the Babylonians a wasteland forever.” – Jeremiah 25:12 NLT

Once the Babylonian conquest of Judah had taken place and the exiles were trying to acclimate to their new surroundings in a foreign land, God sent another message through His prophet Jeremiah.

This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” – Jeremiah 29:10-14 NLT

God kept His word. When 70 years had passed, He motivated King Cyrus to issue a decree authorizing the release and repatriation of the people of Judah. A remnant of Jews returned to Judah under the leadership of Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel. Upon their arrival, they began the formidable task of rebuilding the Temple and were immediately met with stiff opposition from the local inhabitants. During the 70 years of exile, the once-vacant cities and homes of the Judahites had been taken over by foreigners. The king of Assyria had relocated some of his foreign captives to Judah, authorizing them to claim the land as their own. In time, these immigrants intermarried with the Israelites who had been left behind after the Babylonian invasion. These mixed-race occupants of the land became known as Samaritans. 

By the time Ezra arrived some 80 years later, he discovered that the Babylonians exiles who returned under Zerubbabel’s leadership had also been intermarrying with the locals.

“…the Jewish leaders came to me and said, “Many of the people of Israel, and even some of the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the other peoples living in the land. They have taken up the detestable practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. For the men of Israel have married women from these people and have taken them as wives for their sons.” – Ezra 9:1-2 NLT

Ezra’s whole purpose for returning to Judah was to instruct the people in the laws of God. He had brought a contingent of Levitical priests to assist him in his efforts. But he soon discovered that he had his work cut out for him. The people of Judah were living in direct violation of one of God’s primary prohibitions. Centuries earlier, God had forbidden His chosen people from intermarrying with the nations living in Canaan.

“When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you.” – Deuteronomy 7:2-4 NLT

For hundreds of years, God’s people had violated His laws. This is the reason He sent the Babylonians to defeat and enslave them. But even after 70 years of forced exile, the people of Judah had failed to learn their lesson. They repeated the sins of their forefathers and intermarried with the idolatrous nations that had occupied the land in their absence. The returned people of God grew complacent about their faith and compromised their convictions.

Ezra was appalled by what he heard.

“…the holy race has become polluted by these mixed marriages. Worse yet, the leaders and officials have led the way in this outrage.” – Ezra 9:2 NLT

Those who knew better had promoted this behavior. The leaders of Judah, including the Levites and priests, were responsible for this sad spiritual state of affairs.

Ezra’s reaction reveals a lot about his character. He immediately went into mourning over the news of the people’s apostasy. Then he took the matter to Yahweh. Personally ashamed of their conduct, Ezra took it upon himself to confess the corporate sins of the people, declaring himself to be complicit in their act of rebellion.

“O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you. For our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached to the heavens.” – Ezra 9:6 NLT

As a scribe and an expert in the Mosaic law, Ezra knew that what they were doing was in direct violation of God’s commands and that God would not take their disobedience lightly. It shocked Ezra that the people would behave in this way despite God’s amazing grace and mercy. God had shown them favor by allowing a remnant of them to return to the land, rebuild the Temple, and restore the city of Jerusalem. He had not forsaken them but had fulfilled His promise to end their 70 years of captivity and send them home.

The people of God had not earned or deserved God’s gracious treatment of them. Even their time living as slaves in Babylon had been marked by continued rebellion against God. They had regularly worshiped false gods and rejected and rebelled against the one true God. Yet, He had kept His word and fulfilled His promise.

Ezra did not take God’s grace lightly. He was shocked that the people could so easily snub their noses at God and blatantly live in open rebellion to His commands. Their lives were marked by compromise. Rather than separate themselves from the other nations that had taken up residence in the land during their absence, they gladly coexisted with them, marrying off their sons and daughters to them. Not only that, they compromised their allegiance to God by taking on the false gods of their neighbors, diluting their faith, and offending the very One who had rescued them from captivity.

This parallels the experience of so many of us as believers. God has redeemed us from slavery to sin. He has made it possible for us to be restored to a right relationship with Him. Yet we find ourselves comingling with the world around us. Rather than remaining separate and set apart, we determine to blend in and, in the process, end up compromising our convictions. Many of us, having been set free by God, find ourselves enslaved to the world. We seek our self-worth and satisfaction from what the world offers. We long to be accepted by the world. So, we seek to blend in and slowly, steadily, we begin to make compromises and concessions. We rationalize our behavior and excuse our actions. We refuse to accept Jesus’ warning that the world will hate us just as it hated Him.

Instead of living as strangers and sojourners in this land and recognizing that we are citizens of another kingdom, we choose to get too cozy and comfortable with this world. We gladly adopt their ways and accept their standards as our own. The convictions of the culture around us slowly begin to influence and infect us, and we begin to lose our distinctiveness. Chosen and set apart by God, we find ourselves looking more and more like the world around us. Our distinction as Christians becomes more a label than a lifestyle. That was the problem Ezra encountered when he arrived in Judah. The saints had lost their saltiness. The intensity of their light had diminished and they were close to being overwhelmed by the surrounding darkness.

And yet, God still showed them favor. He continued to extend mercy. It was He who sent Ezra back with the sole task of reestablishing His law in the land. God had allowed them to rebuild the temple and He would eventually send back Nehemiah with another wave of exiles to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. God was not done and He is not done today. Despite all we see happening around us and the feeling that the darkness is overwhelming, God remains on His throne. He is still in charge. But He is looking for a remnant of His people who will boldly stand apart from the crowd and speak up for the truth. He is calling His people to come back to Him, reject the ways of this world, and renew their commitment to live in holiness.

For the believer, compromise is deadly, and the temptation to do so is greater than it has ever been before. The world wants to silence our voices, stifle our faith, compromise our convictions, and distract us from our devotion to God. But we must never forget that God has redeemed us from the world. We can live in it and yet not become part of it. We have been called to make a difference, not blend in. We have been saved so that we might tell others of the truth regarding man’s sin and God’s plan of salvation. Some of us have compromised our faith. Others of us have allowed ourselves to succumb to defeat and despair. We live as if all hope is lost and the enemy is winning. But our God reigns. He wins in the end. His victory is assured. We must live like we believe it. All is not lost. But it is time for the called out to stand up and to live out their faith.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

 

Salt and Light.

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13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 5:13-16 ESV

There are two important questions raised by this section of Jesus’ sermon. The first has to do with who He is addressing. We know that He is standing before a large crowd which Luke describes as “a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases” (Luke 6:17-18 ESV). But we also know that the 12 men He had recently chosen to be His apostles are also part of the audience. So, when Jesus uses the term, “you,” to whom is He referring, the entire crowd or just His 12 hand-picked followers? The answer is most likely both. Jesus intended everyone in the crowd that day to hear His words, but the application would differ depending upon the nature of each individual’s relationship with Him. The crowds were there out of curiosity or, in some cases, need. There were those who had showed up hoping to be healed. Others had come to see Jesus perform a miracle and to find out what all the excitement was about. The 12 apostles were there because they had been called by Jesus and were attracted to His ministry and message. At this early stage in their relationship with Him, they were still ignorant of His exact identity. It is clear from John’s Gospel that they believed Jesus to be the Messiah, but were probably not fully aware of what that meant. John records that Andrew, after having met Jesus, sought out his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ)” (John 1:41 ESV). Not long after this, Philip, having been called by Jesus, found Nathanael and told him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45 ESV). And Nathanael, upon meeting Jesus for the first time, would exclaim, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49 ESV). Their collective concept of Jesus’ identity was still cloudy and a bit unclear. And their understanding of the role of the Messiah would have been greatly influenced by their cultural expectations as Jews. They were looking for a king, a liberator who would restore the Jewish people to power and prominence, overthrowing the Roman yoke of oppression under which the nation had suffered for years. The kingdom for which they hoped and dreamed was an earthly one, similar to that of David’s, when he had reigned in Jerusalem. 

So, Jesus’ words were meant for all to hear, but they would have had different application depending upon the relationship each individual had with Him. Jesus was not ignoring the crowd and talking only to His 12 disciples. But His words would have a special significance for them because of the role they were to play in His earthly ministry – in the days ahead and long after He had gone.

The second question that is raised by Jesus words has to do with what it is He is trying to say. What does He mean and what is He looking for by way of response? There are those who believe that Jesus was simply giving a lesson outlining the expected behavior for one of His followers. They see this as little more than Jesus providing the moral and ethical guidelines for life as one of His disciples. But the problem with this interpretation is that it tends to present the Gospel as little more than an effort in behavior modification. This view overly simplifies the words of Jesus, making it sound like a life of righteousness is achievable through self-effort and personal discipline. But all that Jesus outlines in His message is unachievable through human means. The kind of life Jesus describes is impossible for men to carry out in their own strength. He is presenting a radical new way of living that will be made available only through His eventual death on the cross. He is presenting a brand of righteousness that is unattainable and unavailable apart from His sacrificial death on the cross. There was not a single individual in the crowd that day who could live up to what Jesus was describing as life in the kingdom of heaven. He was demanding of them something greater than they were capable of delivering. He was raising the bar of expectation for beyond their capacity to reach it.

When Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth,” He was describing an aspirational goal for all those who would become His followers. In some ways, Jesus is talking past His immediate audience and addressing all those who would later become His followers after having placed their faith in His atoning death on the cross. There is a sense in which Jesus is addressing two audiences: the one standing before Him on the hillside, and the much larger, universal one comprised of all those who would accept His sacrificial death on the cross as payment for their sins. They would be salt, agents of influence in the world, acting as His representatives and impacting all those around them through their very presence.

But Jesus was also indicating that every single Jew standing in the crowd that day, within earshot of His voice, had been intended by God to be an agent of change as well. They should have been salt. As God’s chosen people, they should have had a positive influence on the world around them. But they had failed. They had lost their saltiness, their distinctiveness, and were “no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet” (Matthew 5:13 ESV). The Jews were an oppressed people who lived under the heavy hand of Roman rule and had long ago lost their ability to influence the culture around them. But Jesus was saying that all those who are part of the kingdom of heaven will be people of influence, who dramatically impact the world around them. Their very presence in the culture will make a difference. And they will never run the risk of loving their saltiness.

And Jesus informs His audience that all those who are part of His kingdom will be like lights. They’ll make an impact. They’ll create a difference in the world around them. Light is not meant to be hidden. You don’t light a lamp and then stick it under a basket. Light is meant to illuminate and reveal. It is intended to repel darkness. God had chosen the people of Israel to be a light to the world around them, revealing to the Gentile nations what a relationship with Him should look like. They were to have been a model of righteous conduct in the midst of all the moral darkness of the world. But they had failed. Their light had gone out long ago. And John describes Jesus as the light that came into the darkness of the world, the world of Palestine, and the land of the Jews.

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. – John 1:9-11 ESV

The Jewish people should have been a light to the world, but they were living in darkness. The 12 men whom Jesus had called would eventually be lights in the world, but at this point in the story, they were still living with a darkened understanding of just who Jesus was and what He had come to do. Jesus was calling all those in His hearing to live lives of influence.

“let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16 ESV

But what He was asking of them was impossible. They did not have the capacity to pull off what He was demanding. Even the 12 would find the kingdom life Jesus was about to describe as unachievable. It is so important that we recognize that Jesus is describing life in His kingdom that will only be made possible by His eventual death on the cross. The life Jesus describes in this passage will only become available when He completes the task assigned to Him by His heavenly Father and offers Himself as the payment for the sins of mankind. And it will not be until after His resurrection and ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit, that the 12 disciples will find themselves empowered to be the salt and light they were intended to be.

What Jesus is doing in this message is describing what is to come. He is setting the stage for what will take place after He has accomplished the will of His Father. The kingdom life is only possible because the Jesus did what He had been sent to do. The ability of the 12 to be salt and light was totally dependent upon Jesus being faithful to His calling. He did what He had to do so that we might do what we were intended to do. His death made new life possible. We can be salt and light because Jesus accomplished His Father’s will and paid the penalty for our sins. He has restored us to a right relationship with the Father and given us the Holy Spirit as the source of power that allows us to influence and illuminate the world around us.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)  Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

No One Said It Would Be Easy.

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To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? – 1 Corinthians 7:12-17 ESV

This is an extremely difficult passage and there are as many opinions concerning it as there are commentaries written about it. First of all, when Paul says, “To the rest I say, (I, not the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:7 ESV), he is not implying that what he has to say concerning these matters is simply his personal opinion and not divinely inspired. He is merely indicating that this is not something he heard taught by Jesus Himself. But as an expert in the Old Testament and an apostle of Jesus Christ, and due to the fact that he was divinely inspired by the Spirit of God, the words he writes must be considered as coming from God.

His emphasis in these verses shifts from addressing married couples who are comprised of believing husbands and wives. Now he is addressing those who find themselves married to an unbeliever. This was probably a very common issue in the church in Corinth. There were likely a good many who had come to faith in Christ apart from their spouse and who found themselves in a potentially difficult and compromising circumstance. If there were children involved, the situation was even more complicated. There were obviously those who were counseling that it would be better for a Christian to divorce their unbelieving spouse than to remain married. Paul would even give what appears to be similar counsel in his second letter to the Corinthians:

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? – 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 ESV

And while this passage has been used to defend the ban on Christians marrying non-Christians, that was likely not Paul’s original point. He was addressing the need to avoid the kinds of relationships with unbelievers that might lead to spiritual defilement. This obviously applied to marriage, but was not restricted to it. Paul was not counseling or sanctioning that Christians separate themselves completely from the world. That would be impossible. In fact, earlier in this letter he referred to another piece of correspondence to the Corinthians in which he told them, “not to associate with sexually immoral people” (1 Corinthians 5:9 ESV). But he clarified what he had meant by saying, “not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world” (1 Corinthians 5:10 ESV). So Paul was in no way a proponent of Christian isolationism.

So what is a Christian to do who finds themselves married to an unbeliever? The main point here has to do with divorce, and Paul would say that it is wrong for a believer to divorce their unbelieving spouse. Rather, they should see themselves as a godly influence on their home. Their very presence within the home sanctified it or set it apart. This is where some of the difficulty comes about when interpreting what Paul means when he says, “the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband” (1 Corinthians 7:14 ESV). It would be inconsistent with the rest of Scripture to say that Paul means the believing spouse “saves” the marriage and converts the unbelieving partner. The lost spouse is made “holy” only in the sense that he or she finds themselves benefiting from the presence of a believer living within the same walls. Living in close proximity with a Spirit-filled believer could not help but have an influence on them. And this is true of the children in the home as well. They are not automatically saved as a result of having one believing parent, any more than those children who have two believing parents would be. But in a sense, they would be set apart by God by virtue of His having called one of their parents to saving relationship with His Son.

The real point of these verses seems to deal with what a believer is to do if their unbelieving spouse chooses to divorce them. The truth is that the very presence of a Christian in the home could drive the unbelieving partner away. As Peter indicates in his letter, there is a chance that a godly wife could have a positive impact on her unbelieving husband.

In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives. – 1 Peter 3:1-2 NLT)

But there is also a good chance that her presence could result in conviction and conflict. The same is true of a believing husband. There is no guarantee that a lost spouse will be led to the Lord by a believing partner. I think that is what Paul means when he asks, “For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?” (1 Corinthians 7:16 ESV). So Paul’s counsel is that if a Christian finds themselves served with divorce papers by an unbelieving spouse, they should not fight it. But at the same time, they should not be the instigators of it. Paul simply says, “if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved” (1 Corinthians 7:15a ESV). His bottom line goal was peace, not conflict. “God has called you to peace” (1 Corinthians 7:15b ESV). God receives no glory from a marriage in which two unequally yoked individuals fight and feud with one another. If the marriage is relatively conflict-free and the unbelieving partner is willing to remain married, the Christian should in no way seek divorce. As Paul will write in the following verses, “Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called” (1 Corinthians 7:20 ESV).

These are difficult words. But they deal with the reality of the gospel entering into a difficult and depraved world. When light shines in the darkness, there cannot help but be conflict. When believers come into contact with the lost, there will be tension, testing, and the potential for trouble. Jesus warned us that the world would hate us. Our redemption as believers places a target on our back and makes us prime candidate for persecution by the enemy. The life of a believer is not an easy one. Our call to live set apart in a world that is set against us will not be a cake walk. We will be misunderstood. At times we will be mistreated. But we will never be abandoned by our God.

Diluted, Not Distinct.

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Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned. Strangers devour his strength, and he knows it not; gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, and he knows it not. The pride of Israel testifies to his face; yet they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him, for all this. Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense, calling to Egypt, going to Assyria. As they go, I will spread over them my net; I will bring them down like birds of the heavens; I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation. Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me. – Hosea 7:8-13 ESV

God had called Israel to be distinct and set apart as a people. He had given them His moral, ethical and civil code to manage their lives and to differentiate them from all the other nations. When they prepared to enter into the land of Canaan which God had promised to give to Abraham and his descendants, God had made it clear that they were not to intermarry with the inhabitants of the land.

When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you. When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you. – Deuteronomy 7:1-4 NLT

God had gone on to tell them that He had called them to be His own, not because they were many in number or somehow deserving of His blessing, but simply because He loved them. And if they kept His commands, He would bless them beyond belief.

If you listen to these regulations and faithfully obey them, the Lord your God will keep his covenant of unfailing love with you, as he promised with an oath to your ancestors. He will love you and bless you, and he will give you many children. He will give fertility to your land and your animals.

When you arrive in the land he swore to give your ancestors, you will have large harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil, and great herds of cattle, sheep, and goats. You will be blessed above all the nations of the earth. – Deuteronomy 7:12-14 NLT

But the people had failed to keep God’s command. Rather than eliminate the pagan nations as God had commanded, they ended up intermingling with them, allowing their sons and daughters to intermarry with them, and ultimately accepting their false gods as their own. Which is why God describes Israel as a half-baked cake, made from an inappropriate combination of ingredients. Not only was the recipe unacceptable to God, Israel, like a pancake cooked on one side, was unappealing and unappetizing. They had become revolting to God.

These other nations had become like “strangers” infiltrating their midst and the people of Israel were oblivious to it. They were like gray hairs that subtly show up on a person’s head without them even noticing it. Over time, Israel had become diluted by the presence of these pagan nations. They lost their distinctiveness, their holiness. God had called them to be different and instead, they had become dangerously diluted by the presence of these pagan nations among them. Not only that, Israel had begun to turn to foreign nations as a source of help and hope. When trouble came, rather than turn to God, they made alliances with foreign powers, seeing them as their source of strength and salvation, instead of God.

God accused Israel of insurrection and rebellion. He said they lied to Him and strayed away from Him. They had failed to obey Him and now God was going to have to punish them, just as He had said He would. They had broken their covenant with God and now, all that God had warned them about was about to happen. Destruction was coming. Rather than doing things God’s way, they had chosen to follow their own path, march to their own drummer, and do things their own way. And they were about to discover that turning your back on God never turns out well. Pride and arrogance had driven their rebellious behavior and now they were going to experience humility and brokenness.

God had chosen the nation of Israel to be His people and to live according to His ways. As His children, they were supposed to stand out from among all the other nations. Their worship was to be different, because their God was different. Their lifestyle was to be distinctively different, because God had given them His law. Their relational interactions were to stand in marked contrast to that of the pagan nations among them, because God had called them to express their love for Him through their love for one another. God was to have been their source of strength, comfort, provision, protection, hope, help, joy, peace and blessing. But they were guilty of turning to anyone and anything other than God to have these needs met. They were guilty both individually and corporately. And God had had enough. God had not deserted them, they had turned their backs on God. He wanted to redeem them, but instead of repenting and turning back to God, they spread lies about Him. Rather than seeking God, they sought their own satisfaction. Rather than listening to their all-wise, all-knowing God, they followed the counsel of men whose wisdom was of this world.

As Paul warned the believers in Corinth: “Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, ‘He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness’” (1 Corinthians 3:18-19 NLT). Like Israel, we need to understand that God’s call to distinctiveness is non-negotiable. He has set us apart as His people. He desires to bless us and to reveal His power in us and through us. He wants to be our God and to use us as a vivid illustration to the world what it means to be His children. But if we allow ourselves to become contaminated by the world, our light dims and our effectiveness diminishes. Which is why we should listen to the warning of the apostle John:

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. – 1 John 2:15-17 NLT

Sovereign God – Part II

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Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed” — for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. – Acts 4:24-30 ESV

Peter and John had been arrested by the high priest, Annas, given a stern warning to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and then released. And upon returning to their fellow disciples, they offered a corporate prayer to the sovereign Lord. They recognized His divine oversight of any and all circumstances. They acknowledged His sovereign plan that had included the arrest, trials and, ultimately, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Even Herod and Pliate had been little more than pawns in the hand of God as He accomplished His will regarding the death of His own Son. So when Peter and John had been threatened by the high priest, they knew that even that was all part of God’s plan. Jesus had predicted it. Interestingly enough, they did not ask God to remove the threats or lighten their load. They asked God “to grant your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness”. They didn’t ask for a change of circumstances, but for a change of attitude. They asked for boldness in place of fear, peace in place of anxiety, faith in place of doubt. They wanted God to work through their circumstances, not in spite of them. They knew that God was going to continue to do miracles, stretching out His hand to heal, and performing signs and wonders – all through the name of Jesus. Peter and John had healed a lame man, which is what had gotten them in trouble with the high priest to begin with. They knew that they had power at their disposal that would allow them to accomplish the impossible.

When interrogated by the high priest regarding and demanded to explain by whose power they had healed the man who had been lame since birth, Peter had boldly exclaimed, “you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all” (Acts 2:14-16 ESV). They had killed the Author of Life, and yet God had raised Him back to life. And as proof, Jesus had made possible the healing and perfect health of a man who had not taken a single step in his entire life. This was all the sovereign work of God. They had denied Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. They had attempted to destroy Him. But God had bigger plans. He had planned all along that His Son would die. His death at the hands of sinful men would be the key to mankind’s redemption. His sacrifice would pay for man’s sins and satisfy the righteous demands of a holy God. The penalty for sin was death. The payment required a sinless sacrifice. Only Jesus, the Son of God, met the requirements. Only Jesus could die a death that could propitiate or satisfy God’s demands and make possible forgiveness rather than condemnation.

It was this message that Peter, John and the disciples were commissioned to share. They had good news to share with all those who found themselves living in darkness and without hope. And all they asked for from God was the boldness to declare that message in the midst of threats, repeated rejection, increasing animosity and ongoing trials. They knew they were going to need strength. The threats of the high priest were real. The possibility of harm and even death was far from remote. But they knew they had a job to do. They had the answer to the world’s problems and the God-given obligation to share it. They had already seen God do great things. They had watched Him perform miracles. They had seen the resurrected Lord. They had experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit. Life for them could no longer be business as usual. The Savior had come. The Kingdom of God had drawn near. The battle for the souls of men had commenced and they viewed themselves as soldiers in the army of the Most High God. What a timely reminder for those of us living in this age. We live surrounded by darkness. The people with whom we associate each and every day are searching for hope and longing for healing, and we carry the Light of the world within us. What we so desperately need is boldness. What we should be praying for is strength to carry out our God-given task to act as salt and light, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with any and all we meet. We will be hated. We will face rejection. Those things should not surprise us, but neither should they deter us. May our daily prayer be, “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.”

Titus 3

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Good Works In Light of God’s Grace.

Titus 3

The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. – Titus 3:8 ESV

This entire letter to Titus has been focused on the behavior of believers. Paul wanted Titus to understand the vital importance of Christian conduct both inside and outside the local church fellowship. In the final chapter section of his letter, he told Titus to “Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good. They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone” (Titus 3:1-2 NLT). Paul believed that Christians should make the best citizens. Our internal heart transformation, made possible by Christ’s death and the Holy Spirit’s presence, should result in external behavior modification. Believers should be willfully submissive and focused on doing good works. They should be courteous, gentle and humble in their interactions with others – both inside and outside of the church.

So much of what should motivate us is the grace and mercy we received from God. A believer should never assume an air of superiority or spiritual arrogance. The thought, “but for the grace of God, go I” should constantly be on the mind of the Christ-follower. Paul reminds Titus, “Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other” (Titus 3:3 NLT). While we should fully appreciate out status as sons and daughters of God, we should never forget the reality of our condition prior to coming to Christ. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul gave a long list of all those who would not inherit the Kingdom of God: “those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NLT). But before the Corinthian believers could smugly smile and look down their noses at those kinds of people, he reminded them, “some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11 NLT). Our pre-conversion condition should be easy for us to remember, because we see it all around us, in the lives of those with whom we live and interact. The lost world is a constant reminder of our former lost state. At one time, we were no better than them. In fact, Paul reminds us that God “saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5 NLT). Mercy, not merit, was the basis for our salvation. So God’s grace should motivate us to live graciously among those who have yet to hear and accept the Good News of God’s love. We enjoy a right standing with God because of the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We also stand to inherit eternal life, rather than eternal condemnation. The reality of those two statements should motivate us live godly lives among the ungodly. Our behavior should be radically different than that of the lost among whom we live. God’s good grace should motivate good works among His people that will prove beneficial to all – both saved and lost alike.

Our presence on this earth is intended to be effectual and infecting. We are to be difference makers. God has called us to be salt and light, agents of change in a world of decay and darkness. And our greatest influence will not be through words, but actions. Jesus Himself told us, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35 NLT). The Gospel professed and proven is far more powerful than the Gospel merely proclaimed. Changed lives are the greatest proof of the Gospel’s life-changing power. Christ-like conduct among Christ-followers will always be the strongest evidence for our conversion. Our Spirit-empowered transformation should result is a transfiguration of our conduct and character, resulting in a radically different relationship with the world in which we live.

Father, sometimes it is far easier to talk about our salvation than it is to live it out. We can brag about our life change, but fail to model it for those with whom we live. Make our salvation real. Make our conversion tangible, resulting in true behavior change. May our lives be marked by good works that are motivated by Your good grace revealed in our lives through the gift of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Colossians 4

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Live Wisely.

Colossians 4

Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. – Colossians 4:5-6 NLT

Paul wraps up his letter with a call to live lives of influence. He wanted his readers to see every moment of their lives as an opportunity for spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. He called them to live among “outsiders” or those outside the faith, in a wise manner. He gave a similar charge to the believers in Ephesus. “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:15-17 NLT). The word he uses for “live” is the Greek word, peripateo and it means “to make one’s way, progress; to make due use of opportunities.” It was also used to describe the actual act of walking about. So Paul is calling his readers to go about their daily lives, everywhere they walked, in a wise, thoughtful, and God-honoring way. And the same call holds true for us today. We must be careful about how we conduct ourselves among those who don’t know Christ. We are His witnesses and ambassadors. We act as His emissaries. Each day we are given opportunities to impact a lost and dying world with the message of Jesus Christ as we live it out in real life. It has to show up in our actions, attitudes and conversations. His presence in our lives should set us apart from the rest of the world, and cause us to be salt and light, agents of influence, in the midst of the darkness that surrounds us.

Paul encourages us to take advantage of every opportunity, and he knew what he was talking about. He lived it out on a daily basis. In fact, he was writing this letter while in chains. He asked them to pray for him, that God would give him opportunities to speak about Christ, even though he was imprisoned. He was in chains because he shared the Gospel. But while he was in chains, he was going to continue to share the Gospel. He was going to make the most of his God-given opportunity. Rather than sulk and moan over his situation, Paul was going to take advantage of it. He was composing this letter to the believers in Colosse. And you can rest assured that Paul was going to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with every prisoner and guard with whom he came in contact. They would become his “captive” audience. Paul never wasted an opportunity. Do you?

Who will God bring into your path today? What circumstance or situation will you find yourself in today in which you might live wisely, and act as an agent of influence in the life of someone who does not know Christ? Whatever happens, good or bad, make the most of it. Live wisely. Thoughtfully consider why God has allowed you to be in that situation at that moment. He does not waste opportunities. Our lives are in His hands. He is orchestrating events in such as way that we never show up anywhere by mistake or find ourselves in situations of which He is not fully aware. Stop and consider what God might have you do or say. Make the most of every opportunity.

Father, it is so easy to live life as if everything is out of our control or just a series of unrelated, random events, with no meaning or purpose. I see too many things as speed bumps in my journey of life rather than as God-ordained opportunities to live wisely and influentially. I don’t tend to see these circumstances as opportunities to see You work through me and impact lives around me. I want to live wisely, thoughtfully, and purposefully, regardless of the circumstance. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

2 Corinthians 6

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Living Proof.

2 Corinthians 6

In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. – 2 Corinthians 6:4 NLT

Salvation is to be a holistic experience. It should impact every area of an individual’s life. And while primarily spiritual in nature, it manifests itself in the physical realm by transforming our behavior and equipping us to live radically different lives regardless of the circumstances we may encounter. It is in the physical world that our spiritual transformation becomes visible and practical. Paul could confidently claim that his salvation and his commission as a minister of God influenced every area of his life. It was because of his relationship with Jesus Christ that he could patiently endure troubles, hardships and calamities of every kind. He had endured beatings, angry mobs, imprisonment, exhaustion from hard work, sleepless nights, and gone without food for long periods of time; and yet, he continued to live a life marked by purity, understanding, patience, kindness, and love. In other words, his life revealed the presence and power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, regardless of what was happening to him or around him. It is how we handle our circumstances that gives evidence of our salvation. Our behavior, actions, and attitudes are the best proof of our inner transformation, Paul was able to say with a straight face, “We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us” (2 Corinthians 6:8 NLT). Paul’s faithfulness to God was not contingent on everything going his way or life turning out the way he expected it to. Paul had endured a great deal of pain and suffering since he had come to know Christ. His path had been anything but easy. His faithfulness to God’s call had not resulted in fame and fortune, but had brought him rejection, ridicule, heartache, physical pain, and poverty. And yet, he had joy, spiritual riches, and a sense of contentment with his lot in life.

God is in the life-changing business. He didn’t just send His Son to save us, but to redeem and renew us. God is not changing the world in which we live, but He is transforming lives of His children who live in the world. He is making us His ambassadors and representatives. He is making us salt and light. He is making us living proof of His Spirit’s presence and the resurrection power of the cross. There is a day coming when God will restore and renew His entire creation. But for right now, it is only the lives of men and women that He is reconciling. We are the beneficiaries of His love, grace, and mercy. We alone can know what it means to be made right with God and restored to a right relationship with Him. He is changing us so that we might be His change agents in this world. Paul was able to say, “We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry” (2 Corinthians 6:3 NLT). He was confident in his assertion that his life was not a disconnect from or a discredit to his claim to have been changed by Christ. His actions under fire gave proof of his salvation. His ability to endure trials, troubles and hardships was evidence of the Spirit’s presence in his life.

There was a certain separation between the way Paul lived and the way the world around him lived. He lived his life differently and distinctively from the rest of the world. He had been set apart by God and lived accordingly. And yet, the Corinthians tended to want to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted salvation, but they preferred to keep their ties to the world and the pleasures this world offers. So Paul called them out. He challenged them to recognize their distinctiveness as Christ-followers and to live accordingly. He called them to live lives that gave evidence of their distinctiveness. Yes, it would be difficult. It would be risky. It would probably result in pain, rejection, and a certain degree of suffering. But God would be there in the midst of it all. Their lives would become proof of God’s transforming and sustaining power. They would become lights in the midst of the darkness. For Paul, compromise was never an option. Complacency was never a consideration. He was sold out and totally committed to the cause of Christ and it could be seen in every area of his life. His salvation had been total and complete. He was a new man – inside and out. And he lived like it. So should we.

Father, I want my inner transformation to show up in my outer man. I want my life to be living proof of Your presence in my life. You have not changed the world or my circumstances, but You are changing me and my capacity to live differently in the midst of it all. Continue to change me from the inside out. Let my new heart result in a new man. May others see Christ in me regardless of what is happening to me or around me. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org